This invention generally relates to therapeutic treatment of human and animal tissues and more particularly concerns a procedure and machine for electro-inducing or stimulating deep layered muscle contractions in tissues for the purpose of healing and treating wounds and various vascular deficiency ailments such as peripheral vascular disease, ischemic rest pain, diabetic neuropathy, pressure ulcers, slow or non-healing wounds, chronic low back pain, osteoarthritis, occupational problems such as carpal-tunnel syndrome, tendonitis and other sports injuries.
An underlying characteristic of the above conditions and diseases is impaired circulation in the capillary beds as well as nerve damage. Without blood flow to the tissues, oxygen and nutrients cannot get into the tissues and the waste products of metabolism cannot get out. This puts a severe stress on the tissues causing them to go into a survival mode. The cells use what limited resources they have to stay alive and higher functions, including healing and repair, as well as tissue mediated immunity, become essentially shut down. In most patients with severe disease, measured tissue oxygen levels have been found to be less than 15% of normal. Diabetics with impaired basement membrane function, Reynauds phenomena, Claudication states and other similar conditions all may have similar features due to this underlying characteristic.
Essentially, every tissue in the body has intrinsic electrical properties. Because of this, it has been found that they respond to electrical stimulation. There have been many machines designed over the years to use electricity to affect the body in various ways to enhance the healing process. There are many variables in the use of electricity, including polarity, voltage, amperage, frequency and waveform. Although there are a variety of alternate technologies available today, the electronic parameters of known machines have limited applications.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been shown to be effective in healing ischemic ulcers. 100% oxygen at 2 atmospheres will give a partial pressure of oxygen 10 times normal. This greatly increases the rate of diffusion through the open face of the ulcer. Skin, however, is not as permeable to oxygen diffusion and oxygen delivery depends upon intact circulation as well. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a passive process and does not alter the underlying disease in the microcirculation.
There are several procedures in practice using moist heat with occlusion dressings, infrared lamps, membranes with electrical currents and warm water whirlpool treatments. These have all shown some merit and have been effective in varying degrees. They all work by stimulating the arterioles in the capillary beds to dilate in response to infrared energy. These also are passive procedures, however, and do not alter the underlying disease in the microcirculation.
Machines using high frequency interferential electrical currents are also effective. They stimulate the nerves in the skin and cause dilation of the capillary beds through the reflex pathways. However, this form of electrical current tends to be more superficial in the tissues and, therefore, less decisive and rapid in its healing effects.
Another procedure being used today consists of a garment placed around the diseased limb. Intermittent compression is then administered via compressed air from the attached machine. This again has proven to be effective to promote circulation and healing by pumping the blood through the capillary beds. Pressure gradients are increased in the capillary beds but there is not necessarily the dilation of the arterioles as the other methods promote. This procedure does not remodel the microcirculation either.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an electrical tissue treating procedure and machine which increases circulation in capillary beds. Another object of this invention is to provide an electrical tissue treating procedure and machine which significantly remodels microcirculation so as to provide more permanent therapeutic improvement. A further object of this invention is to provide an electrical tissue treating procedure and machine which not only dilates arterioles but also increases pressure gradients across the capillary beds to improve flow and oxygen levels and promote angiogenesis. Yet another object of this invention is to provide an electrical tissue treating procedure and machine which provides deep layered muscle contractions and perfuses tissues with blood so as to afford more decisive and rapid healing than known methods and machines. It is also an object of this invention to provide an electrical tissue treating procedure and machine which facilitates more rapid and decisive healing of vascular deficiency ailments than known procedures and machines.